Indian Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu has invited Swedish firms to explore business opportunities in India and assured potential investors all support, an official statement said on Thursday .

According to the Commerce Ministry statement, the "Make in India: Sweden 2017" event began on Thursday in Stockholm in order to enhance Indo-Swedish cooperation and explore new areas of partnership.

The Indian delegation for the two-day event is being led by Prabhu and includes Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

"Sweden is an old and trusted friend who came to invest in India when it was a tough time to do business, now it is the time of business oriented structural reforms and time is ripe for these partnerships," Prabhu said at the event.

He also noted that almost all top Swedish companies are present in India.

Fadnavis said huge business opportunities are available in Maharashtra in areas like development of smart cities and invited Swedish companies to visit India and assured them full support, according to the statement.

"We look forward to collaborate with technology providers into solid and liquid waste management," he said.

According to the Ministry, Prabhu also called on Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who said: "I look forward to intensely working with you. We are dedicated to making the relationship develop further."

SAAB, a leading Swedish company in India, has expressed interest in introducing into India the full scope of industrial systems, from design and engineering to production, the statement added.